knitting Archives - Page 24 of 27

cinematic

Cinematic is a simple but stylish triangular shawl knit sideways in garter stitch. With it’s generous size of 215 cm (84 ½ inches) along the upper edge and a depth of 52 cm (20 ½ inches) it is perfect to wear as an elegant scarf.

Eyelet rows and stripes in a contrast color, combined with a gradient yarn, make for a highly customizable accessory. Wear it with a shirt and jeans for a casual look or with that little back dress for a more dramatic look.

Pay what you want: (minimum €6.50)

€

Size and finished measurements

Finished dimensions of the sample Cinematic shawl: 215 cm (84 ½ inches) along the upper edge and a depth of 52 cm (20 ½ inches), measured after blocking.

Difficulty

Stitches used include knit, purl, yo, k2tog and kfb. This pattern is suitable for the beginning to intermediate knitter.

Pattern details

Worked flat back and forth.
Gauge is not critical in this design but should be on the loose side. For the sample shawl measured after blocking: 16 sts / 34 rows = 10 cm (4 inches) in garter stitch.
Pattern languages included: English and Dutch (Dit patroon omvat zowel een Nederlandse als een Engelse versie).
Digital PDF has 2 pages for the English version and 3 pages for the Dutch version (A4 size).

Materials

Yarn: MC: 460 m (503 yds) / 100 g Uilenstad Swifter Sokkenwol [75% Wool, 25% polyamide] in “Sweet Pink”. CC: 210 m (230 yds) / 50 g Sockenwolle Treviso [75% Wool, 25% polyamide] in gray. Substitute any fingering weight yarn in a gradient for the MC and any solid color for the CC for a similar result.
Size 4 mm (US 6) / 80 cm (32 inches) circular needles were used for the sample shawl.
Yarn needle

cinematic Read More »

tutorial: a two-color cast-on

Perhaps you have seen them, those beautiful patterns by Nancy Marchant or Stephen West. Both designers often use two-color knitting in the brioche technique.

To be able to start such a two-color project, you would of course need a two-color cast-on. The “two-color brioche cast-on”, also known as the “two-color Italian cast-on” is of course an obvious choice. However, this particular cast-on method fights me all the way!

Fortunately, I also found another two-color cast-on method, which gives an elastic result. This method is for me a lot easier to use. In this post I will show you how this alternative two-color cast-on technique is done.

Two-color cast-on step-by-step

1. Start by making a slipknot holding both colors of yarn together to make the first stitch on the needle. Make sure you leave about 15 cm (6 inch) of yarn at the beginning, shorter lengths I find a bit tricky to weave in correctly.

2. Place the tip of the right needle between the two loops on the needle, make a yarn over with color 1 and pull up a loop.

3. Put this loop twisted on the left hand needle.

4. Now place the tip of the right needle between the front two stitches on the left hand needle, make a yarn over with color 2 and again pull up a loop.

5. Again put this loop twisted on the left hand needle.

Repeat steps 2 to 5, alternating the two colors, until the required number of stitches has been cast-on. The slipknot that you started with, can now be dropped. This way you avoid a very noticeable knot in your work.

Now you are ready to start your two-colored knitting project!

This cast-on is not only useful for brioche projects. It also lends itself very nicely for starting double-knitting projects. I also sometimes use it just to have a nice two-tone edge to my project, because I find it very decorative on its own.

tutorial: a two-color cast-on Read More »

Linea

Linea is an airy lace shawl with a simple and appealing play on lines and differences in lacy texture. Using mainly yarn overs and right- and left-leaning decreases, Linea looks much more complex than it actually is to knit. The perfect choice for a first lace shawl project!

This shawl is knitted from the top-down in one piece, starting at the neck edge with a garter tab. The instructions for the body and the border of the shawl are provided both fully charted and written out.

Pay what you want: (minimum €6.50)

€

Size and finished measurements

Finished dimensions of the sample shawl: span width of 180 cm (71 inches) and a depth of 73 cm (29 inches), measured after blocking.

Difficulty

This shawl is started with a garter stitch tab. Stitches used include knit, purl, skp, k2tog, yo and a centered double decrease. This pattern is suitable for the intermediate knitter.

Pattern details

Worked flat back and forth.
Gauge is not critical in this design. For the sample shawl measured after blocking: 14 sts / 24 rows = 10 cm (4 inches) over body pattern.
Pattern languages included: English and Dutch (Dit patroon omvat zowel een Nederlandse als een Engelse versie).
Digital PDF has 4 pages for the English version and 5 pages for the Dutch version (A4 size).

Materials

Yarn: 398 m (436 yds) Regia Silk 4-ply / 4 fädig (Uni / Solid) [55% Merino, 25% Nylon, 20% Silk; 199 m (218 yds) per 50 g skein]. Substitute any fingering weight yarn for a similar result.
Size 4.5 mm (US 7) / 80 cm (32 inches) circular needles.
Yarn needle
1 stitch marker to indicate the center stitch
18 stitch markers (optional)

Linea Read More »

tutorial: Estonian lace knitting – gathers

In a previous post I told you about nupps, that special textured stitch that originated in Estonia. Another distinguishing Estonian feature in lace knitting, is called a “gather”. These gathers are clearly visible in the photo pictured below.

This photo is from a very interesting website: New lace – Old traditions. On this website the authors focus on modern lace knitting in the Estonian tradition, building on and inspired by the famous Haapsalu shawls. Definitely a must-read for lovers of lace knitting, also due to the many free stitch patterns that can be found there.

What exactly are “gathers”?

Gathers are made by knitting a certain number of stitches together (“gathering” them), after which they are increased. The resulting number of stitches may be the same as the original number, for example, “2-in-2”, “3-in-3”, “5-in-5”, “7-in-7”, etc. It is however also possible to increase to a different number of stitches, the end up with more (or less) stitches. For example “5-in-7” or “3-in-5”. The result consists of small lacy textured buttons in the knitted fabric.

In this post I want to show you how to knit gathers.

Knitting gathers

In this example, I will be making “3 in 3” gathers on a surface of stockinette stitch. I’m using a relatively thick yarn, because it is easier to photograph than lace yarn.

A 3-in-3 gather is made by knitting 3 stitches together, then slipping the newly knitted stitch back to the left hand needle and knitting [ktbl 1, k1, ktbl 1] in the same stitch.

Gathers step by step
1. Knit 3 stitches together.

2. Slip the last knitted stitch back to the left hand needle.

3. Knit 1 stitch through the back loop, but do not slip the original stitch off the needle.

4. Knit one stitch (insert the needle as usual in the front loop), but again do not slip the original stitch off the needle.

5. Knit 1 stitch through the back loop and slip the original stitch off the needle to complete the stitch.

6. This looks something like this:

7. For this example, I knitted three 3-in-3 gathers in the same row:

8. And this is how it looks after I knitted 2 more rows in stockinette as well as another round with three 3-in-3 gathers:

Of course the gathers look very different on a stockinette base and with this thick wool than in lace weight yarn.

tutorial: Estonian lace knitting – gathers Read More »

tutorial: Russian bind-off on the purl side

In a previous post I have shown you my favorite method of binding off: The Russian bind-off method. This is a very elegant way to bind-off your knitting project to get a very elastic edge on your piece. This is often important to me, because I knit a lot of lace shawls. Knitted lace usually shows its beauty best when it has been gently washed and blocked out. This is only possible if the edge has plenty of stretch.

But what if you need to cast off from the wrong side of the work? Think of a situation that you don’t have enough yarn to knit another row before binding off. In such a case, it is nice to know that you can also bind-off the Russian way on the wrong or purl side of your work!

In short instructions for a Russian bind-off on the purl side may look like this:
Russian bind-off on the WS: *P2tog, slip stitch from right-hand back to the left-hand needle; repeat from * to end.

The Russian bind-off on the purl side step-by-step

For this tutorial I have prepared a little swatch to bind off:

1. Purl the first 2 stitches together.

2. Slip the new stitch on right hand needle back to the left hand needle.

3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 until all stitches have been worked. On the wrong side of the work this will look as follows:

And on the right side of the work the Russian bind-off on the purl side will look like this:

Looking good, right?!

tutorial: Russian bind-off on the purl side Read More »

tutorial: Estonian lace knitting – nupps

Maybe you are already familiar with them: Those funny little buttons that give beautiful lace shawls texture. Take for example the beautiful Luule shawl pictured below. A nupp (rhymes with “soup”) is a characteristic of lace as traditionally knit in Estonia.

The special thing of Estonian lace knitting is that besides the openwork it also contains a lot of texture. As a result, in lace knitting in the Estonian tradition there are many stitches that you will probably encounter (almost) nowhere else.

History of lace knitting in Estonia

The tradition of knitting lace shawls in Estonia, began about 200 years ago in the city Haapsalu. From the early 18th century until about 1918 Haapsalu was a popular destination for Russian tourists. To benefit from this tourism the women of Haapsula started selling their knitted lace shawls.

The story goes that these shawls were sold by weight. And because nupps consume a lot of yarn, a pattern with many nupps increase the weight of the resulting shawl considerably. This is the reason that the characteristic Estonian lace patterns have been devised in such a way that they combine the so popular delicate appearance as well as many nupps.

In this post I want to show you how to knit nupps.

Knitting nupps step by step

Knitting nupps is actually a 2-step process: first stitches are increased and in the following wrong side row all these stitches are decreased back to 1 stitch by purling them all together.

1 . To start knit 1 stitch, leaving the original stitch on the left hand needle. Make sure to knit loosely.

2. Make a yarn over on the right hand needle.

3. Again knit 1 stitch loosely, leaving the original stitch on the left hand needle.

4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 once more (for a five-stitch nupp), and then slip the original stitch of the left hand needle. You know have 5 stitches where there originally only was 1. The result will look something like this:

5. For this example, I set up several nupps in the same row:

6. On the following wrong side row the nupps will be completed. The clusters of five stitches look like this from the wrong side of the fabric:

7. Insert your needle in all five stitches at the same time to purl them together. This works best if you have made the new stitches for the nupps loosely and when using sharp knitting needles.

8. Once purled together it looks like this:

And this is how it looks on the right side of the work:

When knit in a thin yarn nupps will of course look very different from the ones in the worsted weight yarn I used for this tutorial. Depending on the effect you want to achieve you can make 5-stitch, 7-stitch or even 9-stitch nupps. Just repeat steps 2 and 3 as desired.

And don’t forget:

Knit loosely.
Use sharp needles.
Use a crochet hook to purl the nupps stitches together if you have to.
Don’t sweat it if they don’t turn out the way you want at first: it is only yarn!

tutorial: Estonian lace knitting – nupps Read More »

tutorial: picot cast-on

Working a picot cast-on - a tutorial by La Visch Designs

Casting on your knitting project using either the thumb or backward loop method, knitting-on, the long-tail cast-on or a similar method is of course perfectly fine. But sometimes using a cast-on that is just a little more decorative can be so much more fun. In this post I want to show you how to work a picot cast-on. There are various ways to do a picot CO, all giving slightly different results, this is just one possible variation.

In this example, I am using needles size 4 mm (US 6) and a generic worsted weight acrylic yarn.

Picot cast-on step by step

1. Cast-on 3 stitches with any preferred method, in this example I have used the cable cast-on. However, the long-tail or thumb method, or another method can also be used.

2. Insert the left needle into the second stitch on the right needle and pass this stitch over the first stitch.

3. Insert the left needle again in the second stitch on the right needle and pass it over the first stitch. From the initial 3 stitches you had CO, there is now only 1 left and 1 picot has been completed.

4. Repeat steps 1 to 3 as often as desired for your project. The result will look something like this:

5. You can then continue to knit in any pattern desired. In this example, I knitted a few rows in stockinette stitch, this will however not always be the best choice because of rolling of the fabric.

The result with a few more rows in stockinnete picot CO

What you need to consider with this casting-on method, is that you are actually casting-on three times the number of stitches that you will eventually need. This means that also three times the usual amount of yarn is needed. Good to know if you like to use the long-tail cast-on!

Thanks to my Patreon supporters for bringing you this freebie! Creating quality patterns and tutorials is a lot of work and resource-intensive. However, I find it important to give you free content like this tutorial. Thanks to the generous support of my Patreon supporters, I can make it happen. Thank you, patrons! Click here to join, or click here to read more about La Visch Designs on Patreon.

tutorial: picot cast-on Read More »

diva

Like a true Diva, this design is glamorous and truly eye-catching with its exquisite lace border. The stockinette body lets that special skein of fingering weight yarn really shine.

Diva is a semi-circle Pi shawl worked from the top-down, started with a garter stitch tab. The lace in the border is patterned on both right side and wrong side rows. Instructions are provided both charted and written out.

Pay what you want: (minimum €6.50)

€

Size and finished measurements

Finished dimensions of the sample shawl: span width of 142 cm (56 inches) and a depth of 50 cm (19 ½ inches), measured after blocking.

Difficulty

Knit this half-circle shawl from the top down, starting with a garter tab cast-on. The lace border contains patterning on both sides of the fabric. Stitches used include knit, purl, yo, M1, kfb, skp, k2tog, p2tog, p2tog tbl as well as a centered double decrease.

The pattern is therefor suitable for the intermediate to advanced knitter.

Pattern details

Worked flat back and forth
Gauge is not critical in this design. For the sample shawl: 15 sts / 12 rows = 10 cm (4 inches) over stockinette, measured after blocking.
Pattern languages included: English and Dutch (Dit patroon omvat zowel een Nederlandse als een Engelse versie)
Digital PDF has 4 pages (letter size)

Materials

Yarn: 100 g / 400 m (437 yds) Diva Sock Glitter by Dutch Wool Diva [75% Merino wool, 20% nylon, 5% silver stellina]. Substitute any fingering weight yarn for a similar result. Please note that while this pattern can use more variegation in the yarn than most lace, it will be best displayed using a solid or tonal colored yarn.
Size 4 mm (US 6) / 80 cm (32 inches) circular needles.
Yarn needle
31 stitch markers (optional)

diva Read More »

tutorial: 3-needle bind-off

Binding off with the 3-needle bind off method is a way to bind off and connect two sets of live stitches, each on their own knitting needle. It is often used to close the shoulder seams from sweaters that are knitted bottom-up. It can for example also be used to close a cowl in the round, that has been started with a provisional cast on and knit flat.When connecting the pieces of your work with the right sides against each other, then the seam will be on the inside of your work. When placing wrong sides together, then the seam on the outside. This can be very nice as a design element because this method of binding off / closing the seam yields a very neat seam.

The 3-needle bind off step by step

1. To bind off this way, you will need two sets of stitches, each in their own knitting needle, and a third knitting needle to work with. Please note that both sets should contain the same number of stitches. Otherwise, you will have a problem with remaining stitches that cannot be cast off, because the other needle is already “empty.”

2. Hold in one hand both needles with stitches. In this example I have placed the right sides together, to get the seam on the wrong side of the work.

3. Insert the third knitting needle into the first stitch on the front needle as if to knit as usual, then immediately after that do the same with the first stitch on the needle at the back.

4. Wrap yarn around the needle as usual …

5. … and pull it through both stitches.

6. Next slip both first stitches from the 2 left-hand needles to complete the stitch.

7. Repeat steps 3 to 6, you now have two stitches on your right-hand needle.

8. Slip the first stitch on your right-hand needle over the second stitch to bind off one stitch.

9. Repeat steps 3 to 8 until all stitches have been worked. You can now break your yarn and pull it through the last live stitch on your right-hand needle to finish.

The result will be as pictured below. On the left, you see how the seam is on the right side of the work looks and on the left how it looks on the wrong side.

tutorial: 3-needle bind-off Read More »

tutorial: binding off when yarn has run out

Of course, you always make sure that you have enough yarn left to bind off your project. I myself like to weigh the amount of yarn each row or round uses when I’m nearing the end of the project (or yarn!). This way I can make sure I have enough left to bind off. Depending on the type of bind off I plan on using, I know I have to reserve about twice or three times the amount of the last row.

However, it won’t hurt to know more about binding off when yarn has run out, in case of emergency. You know, in that very rare situation that you have lost that game of yarn chicken… Mind you, this is really only an option in special cases, because this bind off tends to be quite tight. This lack of elasticity makes it not really suitable for things like neck openings of sweaters. I wouldn’t use it for projects to be blocked out significantly for best results, like lace, either.

Binding off when yarn has run out – step by step

1. In the picture below you can see that there is very little yarn left: Too little to bind off the normal way.

2. Slip the first stitch knit-wise from the left to the right needle.

3. Slip the next stitch from your left needle knit-wise to the right needle.

4. Pass the first slipped stitch on the right needle over the second stitch.

5. Repeat steps 2 to 4 until all stitches have been bound off.

6. As you can see in the picture above, there will be leftover yarn on the right while you have one last loop remaining on the left side. If the work must be joined in the round, you can connect it by pulling the remaining yarn through the last live stitch, securing the end by weaving it in. If the work will remain flat, you need about 10 cm of yarn from the yarn end to secure this last live stitch. Cut this length, pull it through the stitch and weave all the loose ends in.

Not ideal, but a good technique to know in case it is ever needed!

tutorial: binding off when yarn has run out Read More »